Horizontal Ionospheric Electron Density Gradients Observed by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC TIP: Spatial Distributions and Effects on VLF Wave Propagation at Mid-Latitudes

We investigate the spatial variability of electron densities in the nightside ionosphere and its effects on very-low frequency (VLF) wave propagation using a suite of instruments from the FORMOSAT-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) spacecraft.We use observations from the Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP) instruments to infer the horizontal electron density gradients along each satellite track. We demonstrate that the OI 1356 _ radiance measured by the TIP instruments tracks the horizontal electron density structure well with high spatial resolution and unprecedented sensitivity. Accurate measurements of the horizontal electron density gradients are important for improving retrieved electron density profiles from GPS occultation and other tomographic remote sensing techniques. The processes underlying the variability in the large-scale, nightside electron density gradients are the main drivers of ionospheric weather. TIP observations reveal significant variability in both the small and large scale structure of the nightside ionosphere. The relative intensities, relative widths, and latitudinal separation of the northern and southern ionization crests of the Appleton anomalies show a high degree of longitudinal variation.We demonstrate how the TIP observations can be used to measure the horizontal gradient of the refractive index of whistler-mode VLF waves propagating in a cold, collisionless plasma. These measurements are critical for understanding how gradients in electron density associated with ionospheric structure such as depletions and the Appleton anomalies affect VLF wave propagation through the equatorial and mid-latitude ionosphere

Emerging concepts in biomarker discovery; The US-Japan workshop on immunological molecular markers in oncology

Supported by the Office of International Affairs, National Cancer Institute (NCI), the "US-Japan Workshop on Immunological Biomarkers in Oncology" was held in March 2009. The workshop was related to a task force launched by the International Society for the Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify strategies for biomarker discovery and validation in the field of biotherapy. The effort will culminate on October 28th 2009 in the "iSBTc-FDA-NCI Workshop on Prognostic and Predictive Immunologic Biomarkers in Cancer", which will be held in Washington DC in association with the Annual Meeting. The purposes of the US-Japan workshop were a) to discuss novel approaches to enhance the discovery of predictive and/or prognostic markers in cancer immunotherapy; b) to define the state of the science in biomarker discovery and validation. The participation of Japanese and US scientists provided the opportunity to identify shared or discordant themes across the distinct immune genetic background and the diverse prevalence of disease between the two Nations

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Tomographic Reconstruction of the Low-Latitude Nighttime Electron Density Using FORMOSAT-3/COMSIC Radio Occultation and UV Photometer Data

The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) is a constellation of six microsatellites that was launched into low-Earth orbit on 14 April 2006. Each FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellite contains a GPS Occultation Experiment (GOX) GPS receiver and a Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP), which measure the ionosphere. In previous papers of Dymond and Thomas (2001) and Dymond et al. (2000), an algorithm for tomographically inverting GPS occultation and UV radiometer measurements has been presented. We apply this algorithm to the inversion of recently acquired FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC data and present the results

Observations of the Ionosphere Using the Tiny Ionospheric Photometer

The Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP) on the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) characterizes the nighttime ionosphere using 135.6-nm radiative recombination emission. TIP measures horizontal structure of the ionosphere with high precision and high spatial resolution. Latitudinal, longitudinal, and temporal distribution of the nighttime ionosphere is specified.We present a review of ionospheric observations made with TIP during the first five months of operation. Comparisons are made with other ionospheric sensors in order to validate the TIP observations and to demonstrate TIP resolution and sensitivity performance. Equatorial anomalies observed by TIP are compared with estimates of the E ___nB vertical drift during the post-sunset pre-reversal enhancement in the Peruvian sector. Low latitude irregularity structures observed by TIP are compared with measurements from ground-based sensors including: imaging photometers, ionosonde, and UHF scintillation receivers. Detailed measurements of low latitude density depletion depth and width are provided. Global ionospheric morphology observed by TIP is compared with similar observations by COSMIC radio occultation, and the GAIM model. The complexity of the underlying neutral winds is revealed by the TIP ionospheric morphology

Ionospheric Electron Density Concurrently Derived by TIP and GOX of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC

The tiny ionospheric photometer (TIP) and GPS occultation experiment (GOX) onboard FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) are employed to measure the OI 135.6 nm intensities in the nadir direction and the total electron content (TEC) between the F3/C and GPS satellite in the ionosphere, respectively. Due to its very high sensitivity ~600 counts/Rayleigh and rather narrow nadir pointing 3.8___ncircular field-of-view, the TIP provides accurate characterization of ionospheric electron density gradients in the horizontal direction. Meanwhile, a technique of the low earth orbit (LEO) tomography is applied to analyze theGOX data obtaining the 3D distribution of ionosphere electron density. Here, we combine the two observations to carry out the LEO-TIP tomographic inversions, and demonstrate that the peak electron density (NmF2) retrieved from the TIP combined together with the peak altitude (hmF2) information from the LEO tomography profiles provides more realistic electron density

Wildlife Trade and Human Health in Lao PDR: An Assessment of the Zoonotic Disease Risk in Markets

Although the majority of emerging infectious diseases can be linked to wildlife sources, most pathogen spillover events to people could likely be avoided if transmission was better understood and practices adjusted to mitigate risk. Wildlife trade can facilitate zoonotic disease transmission and represents a threat to human health and economies in Asia, highlighted by the 2003 SARS coronavirus outbreak, where a Chinese wildlife market facilitated pathogen transmission. Additionally, wildlife trade poses a serious threat to biodiversity. Therefore, the combined impacts of Asian wildlife trade, sometimes termed bush meat trade, on public health and biodiversity need assessing. From 2010 to 2013, observational data were collected in Lao PDR from markets selling wildlife, including information on volume, form, species and price of wildlife; market biosafety and visitor origin. The potential for traded wildlife to host zoonotic diseases that pose a serious threat to human health was then evaluated at seven markets identified as having high volumes of trade. At the seven markets, during 21 observational surveys, 1,937 alive or fresh dead mammals (approximately 1,009 kg) were observed for sale, including mammals from 12 taxonomic families previously documented to be capable of hosting 36 zoonotic pathogens. In these seven markets, the combination of high wildlife volumes, high risk taxa for zoonoses and poor biosafety increases the potential for pathogen presence and transmission. To examine the potential conservation impact of trade in markets, we assessed the status of 33,752 animals observed during 375 visits to 93 markets, under the Lao PDR Wildlife and Aquatic Law. We observed 6,452 animals listed by Lao PDR as near extinct or threatened with extinction. The combined risks of wildlife trade in Lao PDR to human health and biodiversity highlight the need for a multi-sector approach to effectively protect public health, economic interests and biodiversity

Spiking Neural Computing in Memristive Neuromorphic Platforms

International audienceAbstract Neuromorphic computation using Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) is pro-posed as an alternative solution for future of computation to conquer the memorybottelneck issue in recent computer architecture. Different spike codings have beendiscussed to improve data transferring and data processing in neuro-inspired compu-tation paradigms. Choosing the appropriate neural network topology could result inbetter performance of computation, recognition and classification. The model of theneuron is another important factor to design and implement SNN systems. The speedof simulation and implementation, ability of integration to the other elements of thenetwork, and suitability for scalable networks are the factors to select a neuron model.The learning algorithms are significant consideration to train the neural network forweight modification. Improving learning in neuromorphic architecture is feasibleby improving the quality of artificial synapse as well as learning algorithm such asSTDP. In this chapter we proposed a new synapse box that can remember and forget.Furthermore, as the most frequent used unsupervised method for network training inSNN is STDP, we analyze and review the various methods of STDP. The sequentialorder of pre- or postsynaptic spikes occurring across a synapse in an interval of timeleads to defining different STDP methods. Based on the importance of stability aswell as Hebbian competition or anti-Hebbian competition the method will be usedin weight modification. We survey the most significant projects that cause makingneuromorphic platform. The advantages and disadvantages of each neuromorphicplatform are introduced in this chapter